It’s a well-traveled route since there are very few in and out of the City. I do hope the locals will add some nuance otherwise, it’s pretty busy riding on shitty tarmac and big box stores as scenery. Would it be totally redundant to do a redux of the Dundas ride? Sure would be more picturesque, unless of course you’re into the aesthetics of backlit signs.

You’re talking to someone who was raised in Vancouver and now lives in Hamilton: nobody has a greater disdain for the Big Smoke, but we’re pretty tied to Toronto. It’s part of an annual tradition that Keeper Josh and I meet at our annual academic conference and go for a ride on the Friday afternoon. Given that we’re in downtown Toronto, that seemed the natural place to start (on a Friday, it will take forever to get out of town and then back into it after the ride).

You’re talking to someone who was raised in Vancouver and now lives in Hamilton: nobody has a greater disdain for the Big Smoke, but we’re pretty tied to Toronto. It’s part of an annual tradition that Keeper Josh and I meet at our annual academic conference and go for a ride on the Friday afternoon. Given that we’re in downtown Toronto, that seemed the natural place to start (on a Friday, it will take forever to get out of town and then back into it after the ride).

Stay tuned for the May Cogal out of Dundas.

Cool, looking forward to connecting with everyone, no matter the route. Assuming the ride is out towards Port Credit/Oakville, it would be good to know if anyone has variations on the theme otherwise, I’ll try to gather some intelligence (personal and beyond) to see if we can build in a little nVance to the rice.

That was a hella good time! Cold start, but the sun made an appearance as we rolled along the lake to Port Credit and back. Nine in all””the best turnout yet for an Ontario Cogal. But, wait: there’s more. Two women: @mel & Dede Demet. One Michael Barry. One Keeper emeritus Josh. Pace was casually deliberate. @Bespoke took a dramatic spill right at the outset but recovered quickly, albeit sporting some Paris-Roubaix face burn. Good conversation and a nice ride.

Thank you for setting this up @Steampunk. Very nice to meet you all and thanks for your concern about possible injuries to my bike in its abrupt, seemingly alchemical attempt to bond its own Ti with the Fe of the road plates.

Illuminati amongst the Velominati – very nice.

Sorry we missed you @adrian – it was a very prompt departure.

@home now, trying to convince my chin that it is not carrying any of Kirk Douglas’s DNA.

Great afternoon. Lots of fun. Thanks @Steampunk for setting this up. Glad we finally got a chance to ride together – which, as you pointed out so tactfully yesterday, I’ve managed to conveniently miss all other prior arrangements. @Bespoke – totally impressive “I’ve fallen off my bike and landed on my face” moment early on in the ride. Dede and I came close to running you over so even more impressive that we didn’t. See you guys at the Dundas Cogal perhaps!

Great afternoon. Lots of fun. Thanks @Steampunk for setting this up. Glad we finally got a chance to ride together – which, as you pointed out so tactfully yesterday, I’ve managed to conveniently miss all other prior arrangements. @Bespoke – totally impressive “I’ve fallen off my bike and landed on my face” moment early on in the ride. Dede and I came close to running you over so even more impressive that we didn’t. See you guys at the Dundas Cogal perhaps!

Well, it’s a good thing that you two didn’t or I wouldn’t have been able to wash my blood-stained, dirt-laden, pavement-bearing jacket but would have had to frame it instead!

That was a hella good time! Cold start, but the sun made an appearance as we rolled along the lake to Port Credit and back. Nine in all””the best turnout yet for an Ontario Cogal. But, wait: there’s more. Two women: @mel & Dede Demet. One Michael Barry. One Keeper emeritus Josh. Pace was Casually Deliberate. @Bespoke took a dramatic spill right at the outset but recovered quickly, albeit sporting some Paris-Roubaix face burn. Good conversation and a nice ride.

HELLOOOO PEOPLE!!! Fooock’in Dede Demet and Michael Barry were there!?!?! Holy for the love of God stop the presses are you serious?!?!?!?! Pictures! We need pictures or it never happened( preferably of Demet)!!! Is Ms. Demet still the Goddess that she was 25 years ago when I would dream of meeting her at a race, wow her with my racing ability and woo her to marry me??? Un-frick’in-believable!! What a day and ride!

That was a hella good time! Cold start, but the sun made an appearance as we rolled along the lake to Port Credit and back. Nine in all””the best turnout yet for an Ontario Cogal. But, wait: there’s more. Two women: @mel & Dede Demet. One Michael Barry. One Keeper emeritus Josh. Pace was Casually Deliberate. @Bespoke took a dramatic spill right at the outset but recovered quickly, albeit sporting some Paris-Roubaix face burn. Good conversation and a nice ride.

HELLOOOO PEOPLE!!! Fooock’in Dede Demet and Michael Barry were there!?!?! Holy for the love of God stop the presses are you serious?!?!?!?! Pictures! We need pictures or it never happened( preferably of Demet)!!! Is Ms. Demet still the Goddess that she was 25 years ago when I would dream of meeting her at a race, wow her with my racing ability and woo her to marry me??? Un-frick’in-believable!! What a day and ride!

In short, yes, but you missed your chance as (you know) – we were also riding with Mr. Dede Demet. On the subject, having been introduced to “Michael” and “Dede”, being a neophyte to this cycling world, I had no context for which to be in a state of awe, I only thought to myself: what a remarkably athletic looking couple and, I say this as I was introduced to Dede before to @Mel: I just met my first VMH!

I hope I can say this without sounding sexist – @Mel strike me down if necessary – cuz Merckz knows, how much admiration is poured over the guns of the same sex here and, as a self-confessed aesthete I mean this only in a respectful way: as I was riding behind your Goddess, I was admiring her big ring, noting that it had more teeth than mine does thinking: I guess it takes legs like those to turn that crank.

@Buck Rogers I have a couple poorly shot photos that I took post ride but I can’t freaking figure out how to post them. I’ll send them to @Steampunk and he can post them perhaps? Sadly the shots of Dede aren’t great but having ridden with her for the first 15 or 20 Kms of the ride I can tell you that yes, she’s still awesome. She told me she doesn’t ride much these days but I knew she could still kick my ass on the bike anytime and anywhere. We were having quite a lovely conversation as a matter of fact until one of the Mike’s (seemed like all the guys on the ride were named Mike) stopped pointing out the potholes and Dede started riding into all of them. I was on the inside riding into all the sewer grates and crap at the side of the road but I didn’t freaking care because the entire ride I was thinking “look at me, riding next to DEDE DEMET”. And then, for the rest of the ride after Dede politely took herself to the back of the group (likely to avoid almost riding over @Bespoke again or into any of the plentiful potholes), I hightailed it up to the front of the group and rode behind Mrs. Dede Demet and spent the remainder of the ride thinking “look at me riding Michael Barry’s wheel”. I’m hoping neither Michael nor Dede could tell than I had one of those stupid shit-eating grins on my face the whole day. They probably both just thought that was me looking normal. Hopefully.

good on michael barry for joining in on the ride. he may not know about this website, nor the reason behind the cogals, but his attendance speaks volumes for his character now. i might have been hard pressed to give him an honest hand shake at the beginning of the ride, but after a few kms and some reflection time, i’d have given him a man hug come departure time. congrats to all and the professor for a job well done.

One would think, but you only need to ride with Josh once. Anyone who is going to ride with beer in his bidon and can write from firsthand experience about the man with the crystal globes is okay in my books. The fact that he can unnerve Frank with his triple crank and ride anyone off his wheel score big points in my book and make it hard to complain too heavily. Consider him the anti-Frank or the last of the true Cognoscenti; and then it doesn’t seem like a problem so much…

Methinks it’s less the confidence antler and more the winter insulation that’s slowing me down. We’ve had a long winter, and it’s high time I got more time in the saddle (and this week’s forecast is promising 20mm of rain daily through the weekend). Barry made a comment about his shorts feeling tight after not having ridden much this winter; I refrained from pointing out that one of my BFGs was still bigger than his waist…

Oh super, perfect. My brother-in-law is getting married in South Carolina that weekend. Please don’t tell me if you get The Prophet, Sparty, Tomeke, LeMan and the ghost of Pantani to show up, I probably would have to commit ritual suicide or something.

We’ve been lucky here this winter… some rain here and there, but overall for the first quarter of the year we had something like half of our “average” rainfall. Made getting over 20 hours of riding in last month pretty easy. We’ll see if I can keep it up now that the rain has returned…

Oh super, perfect. My brother-in-law is getting married in South Carolina that weekend. Please don’t tell me if you get The Prophet, Sparty, Tomeke, LeMan and the ghost of Pantani to show up, I probably would have to commit ritual suicide or something.

94 minutes of back-and-forth. There’s a great moment where I ask him about his influences, and he points out that Steve Bauer just walked in (I hadn’t noticed) and the role he played in MB’s development. That was pretty cool. Some interesting insights on Cav, too, though I forget where…

Blunnies, actually. And that cardigan has elbow patches. But I was wearing a Dundas Speed Shop t-shirt. A couple of observations about these videos in general:

1. Cyclists dress well off the bike. Herbie Sykes’s book on Coppi probably has more pictures of Coppi off the bike than on. And he knew how to dress. Barry, too, looked fantastic. Me: frumpy. Always.

2. Thinking about the above, perhaps this has something to do with their slimmer frames. And with that in mind, I have to start interviewing rugby players or something, because the camera makes me look like a whale beside cyclists. Which has me developing a fonder appreciation for the Bike Snob who looked decidedly human beside me, compared with some…